Knitting machine



E. U. AMES A Jan. 1,1929. 1,697,488

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 51, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Elmer l A-mes Jan. 1, 1929., V 1 1,697,488

' E. UJAMES KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 31, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 n 0214 hut 'j; 4 $171181 UAmes I'D I Patented Jan. 1, 1929.

IUNE'FED STATES ELMER U. AMES, OF COLLINGS'WOOD, NEW JERSEY.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Application filed May 31,

My said invention relates to knitting machines and it is an object thereof to provide means for selectively actuating the needles produce variations in the design of the fabric made by the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provlde means for variously selecting needles to form different patterns and to do this with certainty and precision without interfering with the operation of the machine in other respects.

Referring to the accompanyin drawings which are made a part hereof an on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts,

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the princ pal arts of my machine showing certain need e-lifting cams in end elevation.

Figure 2, a similar section on a smaller scale showing the parts in a difierent position Figure 3 a similar view of a modified form of the invention, I 1

Figure 4, a similar view of a further modification, v

Figure 5, an interior elevation of the cams of a feed and certain 'wheels cooperating therewith,

' Figure 6, a consolidated plan view showing how the needles may be operated in c0n unction with yarn-changing means for producing a pattern, and

a Fig. 7 is a perspective view show ng the interior of the cam set at the point where the wheels act upon the needles. In the drawings reference character 10 1ndicates the frame of the machine to which is attached in any conventional or desirable manner a statiohar needle cylinder 11 having slots in which t e needles 12 are slldably mounted as usual. Near the lower end of the cylinder the slots are deepened to make room for jacks 13 whichare held 1n place by an annular coiled spring 14- similar to thoseshown at 15' for holding the needles in place and similarly located in an annular groove of the cylinder. The jacks have reduced uper arms buried in the needle slots behind the ower or butt-ends of the respective needles. They also have lower arms so formed as to ex- .nn tend beyond the outer periphery of the needle cylinder, or if preferred the ribsbetween which the needle slots are formed may be reduced so as to expose the outer faces of said lower arms. These arms are cut away at 16 on an on incline so that the rear side of the jack is provided with a rocking hearing.v

1924. Serial No. 717,182.

A ea m ring 17 is mounted on the frame of the machine and has a beveled gear '18 se cured thereto in usual manner for revolving the cam ring, it being understood that the 'needle cylinder may revolve if preferred while the cam ring is stationary and that the needle holder may be a flat bed with cams reciprocating relative to it if desired. The cam ring has a set of cams including a stitch cam 19 (Fig. 5),-a lower cam ledge 20provided with a notch below the stitch cam and with an upper margin at a higher elevation for raising the needles to relieve the strain on the yarn after the stitches are drawn, a ledge 21 separated from the ledge 20 by a groove22 for the needle-butts of needles at the idle level and a ledge 23 separated from the ledge 21 by a groove 24 for the butts of needles. at the tuck level. The needles whose butts ass along the upperside of the ledge 23 are t iose needles which take the yarn to form new loops and thereafter knit ofi' the old loops as they pass the cam 19.

As will be evident from consideration of Figure 1 the needles will remain at the idle level unless some means is provided for lifting them above the same; In the present embodiment of the invention I have shown a wheel or disk 25 secured to a projection 26 on the cam ring by a bolt 27 which forms an axle about which the wheel revolves. The wheel is driven by a gear 28 also rotating on the axle 27 and secured to the wheel 25 in any convenient manner. The gear 28 has teeth meshingwith teeth 29 onthe stationary ring 30 below the needle cylinder. This wheel is exteriorly notched as indicated at' 31 so that it may pass a jack as clearly indicated in Figure 1 without moving it. However, should a high part of the wheel engage'the lower arm of the jack then the jack will rock and the upper arm will flex the needle as shown in Figure 2, so as to carry the butt into the field of action of the incline shown at 32 (F-ig. 5) whereby the needle or several needles ac cording to the length of the high part of the wheel will be elevated to the tuck level.

Figure 2 illustrates also how the needles at their upper ends approximately from the upper spring ring 15 to the top remain in their slots so as to exclude dust and lint from the slots while the needle butts are being acted on by the cams. The dotted lines at 33 and 34 (Figure 1) indicate another wheel and another gear which may be mounted in overlapping relation to the wheel 25 and its gear 28 and which actin similar manner on the jacks after they have passed the first wheel to force the needle butts'into the field of action of the second incline at whereby the needles are carried up to the knitting level, the two wheels providing primary andsecondary pat-' tern means for the needles.

It will be understood that the above. description relates to a preferred embodiment of the invention and that in-some cases a single. wheel may be used for carrying the needles from the idle to the knitting level, the tuck level being omitted if desired. The two wheels at different heightsmay also be used to carry needles from one level to another on each of several feeds on a machine of smaller diameter than would be possible if the wheels could not overlap.

Where two wheels are used to a feedythe term feed being used here to indicate a set of cams which operate the needles to knit or tuck or pass without taking yarn, the cams will first raise all the needles to a hei ht which will relieve the strain on the yarna ter drawing the stitch at the last feed, but not high enou h to take yarn at the next feed. A whee then acts on the jacks t0 flex certain needles outward so that their butts will engage acam which will raise them to a higher level say to alevel at which the will take yarn at the next feed, but not big enough to let their latches get above the old loops, thus taking yarn but not knitting off which is called tucking. A second wheel is placed back of the first which will select certain jacks and cause them to flex their needles out once more to engage a second raising cam which will carry them up to the height at Y a different color at each or alternate feeds in a design where there are several adjacent needles tuckin the face yarn is thrown back of these need es causing a long float or loose stretch of'ya'rn not knitted in, which is undesirable in that it is unsightly and is likebeing a fabric with no objectionable floated stitches in the back.

Figure 6 illustrates the method of forming blue parts 37 arranged as here shown partly in squares and artly in rectangles of greater length and wi th. The two sets of cams, or.

two feeds, arebrought into superposed relaof blocks will be changed to white in the second row and the white feed in thefirst'row of blocks will be changed to blue in the second row and so on. The pattern shownin this figure is of course merely illustrative since patterns of many varieties may be formed by the use of my improvements.

- In the modification of my invention shown in Figure 3 the jacks 38 have regularly extending fingers 39 at different elevations, said fingers being arranged for-actuation by a cam. or a bob-pin indicated in dotted lines at 40 and controlled by pattern mechanism of any desirah-lecharacter to engage with said fingers as. desired for actuating the corresponding jacks to bring the desired needles into the field of action of the cams and thus vary the pattern of the fabric as desired.

In Figure 4 a still further modification is illustrated, said modification comprising elbow-shaped jacks having upper arms 41 buried in the needle-slots behind the lower ends'of the needlesand horizontal-lower arms 42 terminating in fingers 43 adapted to be engaged by a cam face on a projection 44 of a pattern-controlled slidable rod 45. In the present embodiment of the invention I have shown elbow-sha ed jacks having horizontal arms of three di erent lengths but it will be evident that the number of different jacks can be changed, the position'of the slide rod being similarl varied. It will be evident that change 0 positionof the slide rod will cause it to actuate a different set of'jacks and a figured fabric having white parts 36 and thereby flex a different set of-needles to bring them into position for actuation by the cams.

Various modifications of my device will be I obvious to those skilled in the art, those shown being merely illustrative of preferred forms of the same and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in-the drawings and described in the specification but'only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

- 1. In a knittingmachine, a needle holder memes having slots, needles slidable in the slots,

needle cams, rocking jacks adapted to move the needles into the field of operation of the cams, a notched wheel acting to push against the jacks substantially in a radial direction,

' 0nd wheel acting on selected jacks to raise their needla to knitting level, substantially as set forth.

.3. In a knitting machine, a needle holder having slots, needles slidable in the slots, needle cams for raising needles. to tuck and knitting levels, said cams being equidistant from the needle holder, and means for moving needles outward at difi'erent elevations into the field of operation of said cams, substantially as set forth.

4. In a knitting machine, a needle holder having slots, needles, slidable in the slots,

needle cams for raising needles to tuck and V knitting levels, said-cams being equidistant from the needle holder, and means for moving selected needles outward at different elevations into the fieldof operation of said cams said means including rocking acks each having an arm underlying a needle, substantially as set forth.

In a knitting machine, a slotted needle bed, peedles in the slots of the bed, needle cams including means for maintaining needles at idle, tuck and knitting levels, jacks operative on the needles to move them into the field of operation of the cams, pattern means actingon selected jacks to cause their needles to be moved to tuck level, and secondary pattern means acting on certain of said selected needles in the same course to cause them to be moved to knitting level.

6. In a knitting machine, a needle holder having slots, needles slidable in the slots, needlc cams for raising needles to tuck and knitting levels. said cams being equidistant .from

' the needle holder, means for moving selected needles outward at different elevations into the field of operation of said cams, said means including rocking jacks each having an arm underlying a needle, and pattern means operative on the individual jacks.

7. In aknitting machine, a slotted needle cylinder, needles in the slots of the cylinder, rocking jacks in said slots having arms lying behind the shanks of the needles. needle cams rotatable relatively to said needle cylinder, and a pattern wheel geared to the cylinder,

said wheel having notches in its periphery permitting corresponding jacks to, remain idle and having integral high peripheral parts between said notches for pressing radie ally against corresponding jacks to rock them and move corresponding needles into the field of action of the cams.

' 8. Inaknittingmachine,aneedle cylinder, a'set of needles, needle-actuating cams, a set of rocking 'acks, and means for acting on said jacks to differentiate the operation of said needles by said cams including overlapping horizontal disks with peripheral notches, whereby jacks entering the notches remain idle while other jacks are actuated by the portions of the disks between said notches, substantially as set forth.

9. In a knitting machine, a slotted needle bed, a series of needles in the slots of the bed,

cams for actuating the needles, jacks for controlling the needles and a wheel travelin bodily past said series of needles, said whea having high peripheral parts acting on the jacks to move the needles selectively outward into the field of action of said cams and having notches between the high parts permitting correspondingly located jacks to remain idle.

10. In a knitting machine, a slotted needle cylinder, a series of needles in the slots of the cylinder, needle actuating cams normally out of reach of the needles, jacks for controlling the needles, and a planetary wheel traveling with said cams relatively to the said series of needles, said wheel having high peripheral parts acting'on the jacks to move the needles selectively outward into the field of action of said cams and having notches between the high parts permitting correspondingly l ocated jacks to remain idle.

11. In a knitting machine, a slotted needle bed, a set of needles in the slots of the bed, a needle cam set, jacks coacting with individual needles, primary pattern means for acting on the acks to move selected needles into the field ofacti on of the cams of said set, and secondary pattern means operative at the same cam set on part of the selected needles to make a "further selection among the selected needles.

'12. In a knitting machine, a slotted needle bed, a setof needles in the slots of the bed, a

needle cam set, acks coacting with individual needles, primary pattern means for acting on the jacks to move selected needles into the field of action of the cams of said set, and secondary pattern means operative selectively at the same cam set on the jacks of the selected needles to further vary the relation of their needles to the needle cams.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 15th day of May, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-four.

ELMER U. AMES. 

